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The 158-Pound Marriage
by Irving, John
- Used
- near fine
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- Near Fine/very near Fine
- Seller
-
Madison, Wisconsin, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
New York: Random House [1974], 1974. First edition. Hardcover. Near Fine/very near Fine. 8vo. [12], 4-245, [1] pp. Quarter green cloth over green paper boards with green and copper lettering on the front board and spine. Price of $5.95 on the front flap of the dust jacket. Ahearn APG 003b. Irving's third book, and a sharp copy at that. A strange, stark novel concerning swingers with a unique world-view. A tiny push and light foxing to the top textblock; jacket has a touch of toning on its flaps and rear panel.
Synopsis
The 158-Pound Marriage, author John Irving's third published novel, revolves around an unidentified narrator, a college professor, and a mediocre novelist. The narrator met his wife Utch, an orphaned survivor of WWII, in Vienna while doing research. They are a relatively happy couple; their family rounded out by two children. At a faculty party, they meet Severin Winter, a Viennese-born professor and coach of the college wrestling team, and his wife, Edith. The couple's interests (Edith is an aspiring fiction writer, and Severin has a commonality with Utch's upbringing in Austria) and resulting infatuations between the couples lead to after-dinner partner-swapping. At first, the swinging goes smoothly, but eventually, uneven feelings and obsessions throw the couples off track. The title, The 158-Pound Marriage , refers to the 158-pound weight class in wrestling, which Severin, the coach, feels is the most competitive. The book is small, only 176 pages, compared to Irving's later weighty tomes, like the 610 page The World According to Garp ( 1978) and The Cider House Rules (1985), which is 973 pages.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Evening Star Books
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 000013069
- Title
- The 158-Pound Marriage
- Author
- Irving, John
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Near Fine
- Jacket Condition
- very near Fine
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- First edition
- Publisher
- Random House [1974]
- Place of Publication
- New York
- Date Published
- 1974
Terms of Sale
Evening Star Books
All items subject to prior sale.� Certain items and shipping to certain countries may exceed the standard shipping amounts.� Any shipping expenses incurred above the standard rate will be billed at cost. Payment is in US dollars.� Personal checks must clear prior to shipment (please allow 10 days).� Books may be returned within 15 calendar days of delivery for any reason, so long as we are notified of return within 10 days of delivery.� Return items must be well packaged and fully insured and must be returned in same condition as sold. Any book described as a First Edition is also a First Printing unless otherwise indicated.
About the Seller
Evening Star Books
Biblio member since 2007
Madison, Wisconsin
About Evening Star Books
We buy and sell rare and fine books in many fields. Our interests include philosophy, modern first editions, and works of historical or intellectual interest. In addition to bookselling, we regularly do valuations and appraisals for non-IRS purposes. Evening Star Books is a Limited Liability Company.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
- Flap(s)
- The portion of a book cover or cover jacket that folds into the book from front to back. The flap can contain biographical...
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
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